Vol. 9, Special Issue 4, Part F (2025)

The present study aimed to assess the effects of dietary supplementation of palm stearin (PS), a byproduct derived from the palm oil refining industry, on the rumen fermentation parameters in growing buffaloes. Palm stearin, due to its high energy content and availability as a byproduct, offers potential as a low-cost dietary fat source in livestock nutrition. A total of eighteen clinically healthy buffaloes, all under the age of 18 months, were selected for the trial and randomly allocated into three dietary treatment groups: T₀ (control), T₁ (3% PS), and T₂ (6% PS), with six animals in each group. The control group (T₀) received a basal diet without any PS inclusion, whereas the T₁ and T₂ groups were fed concentrate mixtures containing 3% and 6% Palm Stearin, respectively. The feeding trial was conducted for 165 days. All animals were offered a diet consisting of a 50:50 ratio of concentrate to wheat straw, formulated in accordance with ICAR (2013) feeding standard. The study focused on rumen fermentation attributes, which are important indicators of digestive efficiency and microbial health in ruminants. At the end of the feeding period, rumen fluid samples were collected and analysed for key fermentation parameters including pH, ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N, mg/dL), total volatile fatty acids (mM/dL), and the molar proportions of acetate, propionate, and butyrate, as well as the acetate-to-propionate (A:P) ratio. Results indicated that palm stearin supplementation had no significant (p>0.05) effect on any of the rumen fermentation parameters across the groups. These findings suggest that incorporating up to 6% palm stearin in the diet does not negatively influence rumen fermentation in growing buffaloes.